1.8 petrol Tickover/ running problem

After buying a basket case 1.8 K series with half the engine in the boot decided to try and fix it (see other post on here )!

So after a new piston,sleeve, cylinder head skim, gasket the old girl cracked up first time. Run's great,goes like **** off a stick, no over heating or coolant loss etc.. chuffed as! Except when warm every time you stop it dies and won't start for a few minutes ?? Had it ticking over for over 1hr yesterday & today, occasionaly stalled but started again.Just been out in it and at every junction dies and won't start (easily).

I have cleaned the idle control valve that seems to be working ?? but how can you tell ? Reset it by pressing throttle peddle 6 times !

No carb or points as it's an electronic ignition I'm a bit stumped ?? When you open the petrol tank there seems to be a vacuem and thought maybe fuel filter might be blocked but it runs fine until you stop ?

Thanks in advance

Could be the following:
#1 dirty fuel filter. It's in the pump itself which is in the fuel tank under the rear Right passenger seat.
#2 possibly a failing fuel pump
#3 as you mention temp related check the two temp sensors on the coolant outlet on the head. As you look at it front right corner of the motor. One is used by the cooling fans and the other [blue?] is used by the ECU for fuelling...
# 4 fuel tank vacuum - hmm not sure on that one. Have a careful look at the fuel cap - do fumes vent through that? or is there another tank vent somewhere.

I'll follow with interest.

Thanks for your quick reply ! I will have a look now !

Try a run out without the fuel cap on, this will eliminate the fuel cap vent being the problem ( vacuum in the tank fault ) have come across this before as work as a breakdown tech

1. Fuel pump out, cleaned not dirty, back washed filter and blown all the crap out with air line !
2. Fuel pump seems to be working correctly and is'nt making any strange noises !
3. Temp gauge on coolant pipe when disconected brings fans on and gauge in car obviously drops ! But the other one that goes into the top of the rocker cover when disconected nothing happens ? Good or bad ?
4.left the fuel filler cap off

Left ticking over for another half hour, drove around the garden a few times, shot off down the road, first junction fine, then after a long run came to a junction and died, would'nt start easily, next junction the same etc .................. the **** !

Fuel not returning back to the tank could cause the vacuum as the pump sucks. disconnect the return pipe at the tank into a petrol can to see if the flow is impeded. Then work your way to the fuel pipe from the engine for any damage or kinks. you may have enough to run the engine when cold but not enough to continue when the vacuum is created.

Check all PCV pipes for cracks. It does sound IACV related. Is the wiring to it zip tied to the valve body?

If you have a code reader, I think now is the time to get some money back on it!

My money is on your MAF. Will the 1.8 run with the MAF disconnected?

GrumpyGel said:

If you have a code reader, I think now is the time to get some money back on it!

My money is on your MAF. Will the 1.8 run with the MAF disconnected?

Click to expand...

No MAF on the 1.8 K series GG
The ECU uses a MAP sensor and TPS to calculate engine load.

Won't be that then

Said that cos my Disco V8 had a similar issue (although it also hunted when coming back down to idle) and that was the MAF.

I know that the idle control valve can make the car rev high on tickover cause I had that problem. Could it also cause the opposite? If you disconnect the hose from the throttle body end and stick your finger over it the engine will die so I guess it could.

Well it looks like I'm in Dickies meadow then !

What is the travel of the valve in the idle control valve ? Think mine might be fooked ! Mine only moves a few "creaky" mm when you put the ignition on and then creaks closed and makes a humming noise when the ignition is turned off !

Just been on an MG forum as there are loads of k series threads, as you can see from the phone, I own one for my sins.
The idle control valve can cause the problems you are having BUT fitting a new one needs to be set up correctly using the correct software. According to people who I think know thete stuff.
cleaning it should be ok

Thanks a lot for your help ! Useing correct software is completely out of the question out here in rural France ! I would'nt mind if it was for me, doing a bit of "heel and toe" at junctions etc.. to stop it stalling but not the case ! If it had a bloody carb on it I would have had it sorted ages ago !
PS: Burnley, I come from your neck of the woods, went to school in NELSON !

your better off in rural france that Nelson now, I get scared just driving through Nelson now.

From Earby/Skipton end, went to Walton High (now been demolished ) until I could'nt stand it any more and moved to a school in North Yorkshire !

Work the problem - when it won't run, what's missing? Gotta be fuel, air, spark, timing, exhaust, or compression. These intermittent no-starts can be annoying, but the only time to try to diagnose the problem is when they won't start. Might be a bear to diagnose without a scan tool though.

Cheers matey ! that's what I'm doing !luckily I don't need it so am just messing around with it when I've got time and can be bothered . It's not a bad starter until it stalls when warm, then if you leave it say 30 seconds it will start again ! Had it ticking over again for over an hour today, try and drive off and it will stall start it up again and stop and it carries on running stop again and it stalls !
Otherwise it pull's well, no smoke, over heating etc just a right pain when you come to a junction !

I squirted WD40 into my Idle control valve (through the throttle body end of the rubber pipe to sort an over revving problem. Some others suggest carb cleaner but I didn't have any. Got to be worth a try.